1 funnel cloud, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Hanford, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 18, 3:30 PM PST, 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HANFORD CA
330 PM PST WED JAN 18 2006
.SHORT TERM...FOR THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTERIOR...SATELLITE
IMAGERY DEPICTS BROAD UPPER TROUGH ACROSS THE WEST WITH PLENTY OF
COLD AIR. LOCAL 88D RADAR SHOWS SCATTERED SHOWERS STILL DEVELOPING
AND PUSHING E-SE ACROSS MAINLY THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE FA. THE
COLD AIR ALOFT HAS HELPED PRODUCE A COUPLE OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS
THE CENTRAL VALLEY THIS AFTN. TWO REPORTS OF FUNNEL CLOUDS HAVE
BEEN RECEIVED...BUT ARE WELL OFF THE GROUND AND COLD AIR FUNNELS
RARELY REACH THE SURFACE. THIS ACTIVITY IS VERY ISOLATED AND WILL
DISSIPATE BEFORE EVENING. THEREFORE...HAVE OPTED TO LEAVE OUT OF
THE ZONE FCST FOR TONIGHT.
THE COLD AIR ADVECTION CONTINUES TO PUSH IN AND LATEST OB FROM
YOSEMITE VALLEY(4200 FEET) HAS A TEMP OF 33 DEGF. CURRENT MESOWEST
INDICATES SOME PRECIP AMOUNTS IN THE SIERRA HAVE TOPPED 1 INCH AND
WITH ADDITIONAL SHOWERS THIS AFTERNOON...BELIEVE WINTER STORM WATCH
WILL VERIFY...HENCE IT WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM. LATEST NAM
HAS TROUGH AXIS CROSSING OVER THE DISTRICT THIS EVENING WITH VORT
ENERGY CLIPPING THE SIERRA AROUND YOSEMITE. WITH DECREASING MOISTURE
AND NVA PROGGED...HAVE DECIDED TO REMOVE THE SLIGHT POPS FROM THE
SIERRA ON THURSDAY. MODELS HAVING DIFFICULTY TRYING TO RESOLVE
FEATURES THROUGH THE SHORT TERM. BUT PREVAILING PATTERN SUGGESTS A
DRY NORTHWEST UPPER FLOW WITH WEAK SHORT WAVE RIDGING TRYING TO
DEVELOP.
AS EXPECTED...SFO-LAS SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT HAS INCREASED
DRAMATICALLY THIS AFTERNOON. LATEST PGRAD OF 11MB HAS RESULTED IN
STRONG GUSTY WINDS IN THE KERN MOUNTAINS AND DESERT. INDIAN WELLS
CANYON HAS REPORTED A WIND GUST TO 67 MPH LAST HOUR...AND CHINA LAKE
HAS GUSTED TO 49 MPH. THE CURRENT WIND ADVISORY WILL CONTINUE
THROUGH 10 PM. 50KT H7 JET WILL DIMINISH OVERNIGHT AND GRADIENTS
WILL RELAX AS WELL. SOME LOCAL GUSTS MAY CONTINUE OVERNIGHT...BUT
WILL TREND DOWNWARD THROUGH THURSDAY.
.LONG TERM...FOR SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY...MEDIUM RANGE
MODELS CONTINUE TO BE HAVING A VERY DIFFICULT TIME PREDICTING THE
PATTERN EVOLUTION. THE GFS MODEL HAS BEEN ALL OVER THE PLACE FOR
THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS, WITH SOLUTIONS RANGING FROM A DEEP LOW
OVER THE BAY AREA ON SUNDAY, TO A WEAK TROUGH OVER SALT LAKE CITY
AND A RIDGE OVER CALIFORNIA. OTHER MODELS ARE NOT QUITE AS VARIABLE
AS THE GFS, BUT THEY TOO CANT SEEM TO SETTLE ON A SINGLE PROBABLE
FORECAST PATTERN. GENERALLY SPEAKING, AFTER SATURDAY NIGHT THE ONLY
THING THE MODEL AGREE UPON IS THE STORM TRACK REMAINING OVER
CANADA. ON MONDAY, WE ARE PRESENTED WITH A CHOICE OF A LOW OVER
ARIZONA, A LOW OVER BAKERSFIELD, OR A WEAK TROUGH OVER ARIZONA AND A
LOW 500 MILES WEST OF POINT CONCEPTION. THE CURRENT FORECAST HAS A
SLIGHT CHANCE OF SNOW OVER THE SIERRA ON SUNDAY AND IF ONE OF THESE
MODELS IS CORRECT, IT MAY HAPPEN. I HAVE KEPT THE FORECAST DRY FOR
THE REST OF THE FORECAST AREA AND BACKED OFF ON CLOUDS AS IT IS
MUCH MORE LIKELY THE AREA WILL BE EITHER UNDER HIGH PRESSURE OR TOO
FAR FROM A LOW CENTER FOR MUCH CLOUD COVER. HOPEFULLY THE MODELS
WILL COME INTO BETTER AGREEMENT TONIGHT AND TOMORROW?
&&
.AVIATION...IFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL OVER THE SOUTHERN SIERRA
NEVADA NORTH OF KINGS CANYON THROUGH THIS EVENING DUE TO PRECIP AND
LOW CEILINGS. MEANWHILE...AREAS OF MVFR WITH LOCAL IFR CONDITIONS
CAN BE EXPECTED ELSEWHERE NORTH OF KERN COUNTY. ACROSS KERN COUNTY...
VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH TONIGHT EXCEPT ALONG THE NORTH
AND WEST FACING SLOPES OF THE TEHACHAPI MTNS AFTER 06Z THURSDAY
WHEN AREAS OF MVFR CAN BE EXPECTED. FOR SPECIFIC DETAILS...PLEASE
REFER TO TAFS FOR KMCE...KFAT AND KBFL.
&&
.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WINTER STORM WARNING FROM
YOSEMITE PARK TO KINGS CANYON UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING.
...WIND ADVISORY FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS
UNTIL 10 PM TONIGHT.
&&
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HANFORD /USE ALL LOWER CASE/
DCH/DUDLEYHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA 505 AM PST WED JAN 18 2006 CAZ096-191300- SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON- 505 AM PST WED JAN 18 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA FROM YOSEMITE TO KINGS CANYON. .DAY ONE...TODAY A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH 6 PM THIS EVENING. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE SFOWSWHNX /WWUS46 KHNX/ FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. CAZ095-098-099-191300- KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS-INDIAN WELLS VALLEY- SOUTHEASTERN KERN COUNTY DESERT- 505 AM PST WED JAN 18 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE KERN COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS. .DAY ONE...TODAY A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING UNTIL 10 PM TONIGHT. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST WEATHER MESSAGE SFONPWHNX /WWUS76 KHNX/ FOR FURTHER DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. CAZ089>094-097-191300- WEST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-EAST CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- SOUTHWESTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY-SOUTHEASTERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY- MARIPOSA MADERA AND FRESNO COUNTY FOOTHILLS-TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS- TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS- 505 AM PST WED JAN 18 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AND ADJACENT FOOTHILLS...AND FOR THE TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS TO THEIR NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. JEB
The San Joaquin Valley radar (KHNX), 101 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:55 UTC.
1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
Several small funnels quickly formed and dissipated with low-topped convection.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in California, January 2006
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5491888.